TRENTON — City council is operating under the assumption drastic times call for drastic measures.

After this weekend’s murder toll claimed four more lives, Council President George Muschal provided a rough sketch Monday of a couple ordinances on the drawing board to address the bloodshed, which has now totaled 27 homicides for the year, just four shy of the record of 31 from 2005.

The first called “Safe Passage” will allow police officers to arrest individuals loitering outside of city businesses.

“If you’re violating the law in front of the business and you’re hanging around out there, you could be placed under arrest,” Muschal said.

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Fines could also be levied, increasing after each summons is issued.

The ordinance would require businesses to place a sticker on their window when they receive a license from the city.

“Once the sticker has been posted, the cops can go up there and do what they have to do,” the council president said. “If you don’t have a sticker on the business, you’re going to get fined one way or another.”

The other ordinance in the works is a zero-tolerance policy to shut the city down in times of increasing violence like this past weekend.

“We’d have an emergency meeting and we’d close the city down — shut the stores down, the bars and everything — until the police department gets a grip of the city,” Muschal said.

Both ordinances have yet to be voted on by council, but Muschal expects “Safe Passage” to be ready soon.

Muschal said in addition to himself, Police Director Ralph Rivera Jr., Business Administrator Sam Hutchinson, Councilwoman Phyllis Holly-Ward, Clerk Leona Baylor, and the law department worked on the measures.

On Friday, Mayor Tony F. Mack made his own plea in the form of a letter to Gov. Chris Christie for help due to the city “experiencing an extended crime wave that needs immediate attention.”

Mack is seeking approximately $10 million from the state to hire 75 additional police officers, after the department was depleted two years ago when 105 officers were laid off.

Christie’s administration has yet to provide a response.

Councilwoman Holly-Ward said it never hurts to request something, because, “You never know until you ask,” but added Mack’s approach was wrong.

“Some of the language in the letter made no sense to me where he’s saying that you can put stipulations on the money, so we don’t abuse it,” she said. “It just pretty much (implied) he abuses money. Who would want to give you money if you’re already admitting you abuse money?”

Mack was indicted in December, along with his brother, Ralphiel Mack, and Mayor Mack’s close associate, Joseph A. “JoJo” Giorgianni, on charges of extortion, bribery, and mail and wire fraud.

Mack and his co-defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges, which stem from an alleged scheme to accept $119,000 in bribes in exchange for using the mayor’s influence over the development of a parking garage on city-owned land. The trial ­is expected to begin Jan. 6.

The embattled mayor has held onto power despite calls from Christie and other officials to step down.

Holly-Ward has been a vocal critic of the mayor not adhering to his duties after his indictment and has ordered votes to reduce his salary $126,400 in half, all of which have failed.

“These are the times when we really see what the role of the mayor is,” said Holly-Ward, who previously stated Mack’s silence and lack of visibility is directly related to the city’s violence. “If the top doesn’t have control, everything else is going to be out of control. You have to respond to it in some way.”

Holly-Ward said council is moving forward with the measures due to Mack’s absence.

“At this point, if the mayor isn’t going to step up and do anything, then we have to be drastic,” she said. “We’re going to have to take it into our hands.”

Mack’s letter wasn’t the first time a city official asked Christie for additional police officers in Trenton.

In April, Councilwoman Kathy McBride requested the governor to deputize additional law enforcement officials to the city, but the governor never responded.

“I just hope that he listens, because we need help,” McBride said of Mack’s request.

When asked if it has gotten to the point the state needs to step in, McBride responded, “When one life was laid to the grave, it was at that point.”

McBride said parents, the community, and the local, state and federal governments all share responsibility to curb the city’s violence.

“Everyone has a role to play and we all need to start doing our job,” McBride said, adding it starts in the home first. “These parents have to start recognizing when there’s some type of illegal activities in their homes, they have to ask for help.”

In May, city council voted against bringing back 12 more cops through a federal grant, citing the lack of finances to pay for the officers and no explanation from Mack’s administration on how the funding would be secured for the project.

Last month, Holly-Ward revealed her own safety initiative called “Safe Box” so that citizens can disguise confidential tips.

The boxes, which will also receive suggestions and prayer requests, were placed in local churches and in the city clerk’s office.

The councilwoman doesn’t feel it is the governor’s responsibility to step in to deal with the violence.

“We were elected to actually do a job and now we’re asking the governor to come in and do our job for us, I just don’t agree with it,” Holly-Ward said. “Any help that he could give, we’d surely appreciate. But nobody’s going to take care of you until you show you’re willing to take care of yourself.”

About the Author

Originally from Webster, N.Y., David has been a reporter in N.J. for the past three years (first in Phillipsburg and now in Trenton).He is a Temple alum who interned at the Philadelphia Daily News. Reach the author at dfoster@trentonian.com
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